Derby Downtown Lighting & Signage Plan

4. ENERGY AND MAINTENANCE
5. PRIVATE PROPERTY
There is very little consistency to the existing lighting systems that are installed
within the Derby District. The majority of the luminaires are cobra head type roadway
luminaires of various types with high pressure sodium lamping while there are a few
pedestrian scaled metal halide luminaires and a handful of LED luminaires at Los
Valientes Park. The high pressure sodium roadway luminaires have various optics,
lenses and pole components, many of which are wood, all of which makes for difficult
maintenance. Meanwhile, the metal halide pedestrian luminaires are silver in finish
and newer, although many were not operational during our visits to the area to asses
luminaire performance. The LED luminaires in the park are of yet another type and of
black finish.
Lighting of private properties within the Derby District varies
greatly, which isn’t surprising and isn’t particularly problematic
as that is common and to be expected of private properties.
However, given the age of many of the properties there are
many lighting elements that are very outdated and not being
maintained for proper working order. This results in poor vertical
illumination around the buildings making it difficult to see the
perimeter of the spatial environment which makes the area
feel unsafe. Outages also deter people from retail and dinning
establishments as it can make it difficult to discern if a property
is open for business. Additionally, many of the luminaire types
are non-cut off meaning that they are directional in nature and
often create glare. Glare can overwhelm the visual system by
introducing too much light at one time to the eye while it is
‘tuned’ to dark, night-time light, causing an unsafe condition.
Private property flood
lights that cause disability
glare.
Rope lights in Joe Reilly Park that were not
functional during our visits to the park.
Maintenance could be simplified by standardizing the lighting with the District to be
of consistent types and finish. This would streamline maintenance by utilizing fewer
components and parts while also minimizing the variety with fewer luminaire types.
Implementing newer technology LED systems would also reduce maintenance due to
the long life of the systems which would required maintenance in 10-15 year cycles
rather than 2-5 year cycles. These newer LED systems are also notably more efficient
which would result in considerably less energy use to run the systems.
Example of private property with light outages causing people to question if the
establishment is open for business.
6. VISUAL IDENTITY
As mentioned in previous sections, the existing lighting systems are very inconsistent in appearance and performance. Both of these
factors effect the visual character of the Derby District. The lighting systems currently appear chaotic and dis-similar. In order to
provide a more uniform and cohesive feel to the District, it would be advisable to streamline the lighting systems to be of consistent
type and character that relate to other elements found within the District. Relating the lighting poles and systems to the poles and
design character of the way-finding and signage elements, a strong design element can be introduced into the Derby District. This
design element should support the history and future growth of the area by instilling a vibrancy and a visually interesting design
element to the area both during the day and night.
Examples of the variety of light sources, poles and finishes found within the Derby District ranging from high
pressure sodium on wood poles, metal halide indirect luminaires with silver metal poles and LED luminaires
with black finishes.
118 Derby Lighting & Signage Plan